Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 435

Chapter 435: Signing the Trade Agreements Chapter 435: Signing the Trade Agreements 6th February 1657 The expo held two days ago led all the companies that received orders from the Europeans to immediately start working overtime.

Although the market for industrial goods in the Bharatiya Empire is not nonexistent, it can be said that the market is very small.

Even now, the middle class in the empire, which is on the rise, constitutes less than 20% when considering only the southern part of the empire.

When considering the entire empire, this percentage does not even reach 5%.

It is true that even this 5% middle class in an empire with a population of nearly 190,000,000 amounts to several million people, which is a large market.

However, unlike European countries where the population is densely concentrated, Bharath is a vast country spanning 4.5 million square kilometres.

With only a few million people spread across such a large area, it is almost impossible for companies to cater to this market.

In this way, despite having the capability to manufacture products for tens of millions of people, the new industrial companies faced constraints due to the limited market demand, as their primary local customers were the middle and upper-class residents of higher-tier cities in the southern part of the empire.

However, this situation changed with the influx of orders from Europeans, which spurred Bharatiya civilian industries into high gear, operating with the intensity of turbocharged supercars racing to complete tasks and secure more orders.

They understand that even these European orders will be limited unless they are better than their competition.

— In a large hall in the parliament building, all the European diplomats gathered together for a banquet hosted by Vijay to celebrate the success of the expo.

Not only that, Vijay also held this banquet to conclude the deals reached between the nations after the banquet ended.

Heinrich Müller, holding a glass of mango juice, had a sour expression on his face.

He couldn’t hide his dissatisfaction.

“There isn’t even a drop of beer served at this banquet.

What sort of banquet is this?” Hearing the complaint, the Polish diplomat Jan Kowalski had a wry smile on his lips.

Although he himself felt it was a pity that there was no alcohol at the banquet, he also knew the main purpose of the banquet was to sign the trade deals.

Being a Qualified diplomat, he also understood the reason why alcohol was not provided, as it could very well lead to disputes among the nations and invalidate any deals signed.

However, seeing the clearly unhappy Prussian in front of him, he did not know whether to laugh or cry.

“Of course the Barbaric Prussian wants alcohol.

He would rather drink beer instead of water.

these bloody drunkards,” Oscar Anderson, the Swedish ambassador, remarked, not hiding the contempt in his eyes.

“You…!” Heinrich immediately got angry at the remark.

All the diplomats excitedly watched the scene, eager to see what would happen next, but unfortunately, their wish was not fulfilled.

“Gentlemen, please, can we stop?

We wouldn’t want to leave a bad impression on our Bharatiya friends, now would we?” Maximilian V said, successfully stopping the war of words between the Prussian and the Swedish.

Thus, the banquet proceeded with traditional music and dance performances by some of the famous artists in the empire.

Some diplomats were impressed, while others did not care, as they associated all the arts and cultures of the nation with blasphemy.

— Three hours later, Vijay, after greeting all the diplomats at the banquet, had arrived at the conference hall in the parliament building where the trade deal with all these Western nations was about to be reached.

“Invite them all in,” Vijay ordered.

Ganesh immediately followed the orders and invited all the main diplomats from Europe.

Recognizing Ganesh as the expo planner, the Europeans quickly entered the conference room to avoid keeping the monarch waiting.

“Respected gentlemen, I am very thankful that you found some of our products appealing and purchased them.

Some of you even purchased exclusive agencies for certain products, which greatly surprised me.” “I believe your actions will further strengthen the millennia-long ties between the Indian subcontinent and Europe.” While Vijay was giving his introduction, the diplomats looked at each other, unsure of what His Majesty was getting at.

They thought this meeting was just about signing the deal and getting it over with, assuming they had already negotiated all the products during the expo.

“Is he going to sell the products that were not previously allowed?” a diplomat thought to himself, his face showing an excited expression.

Peter kept looking at Vijay with a complicated expression, having just learned why there weren’t many nobles in this empire.

The answer shocked him: it was simply because His Majesty, Rajyapati Vijay Devaraya, had killed off the majority of them.

Now there was no such thing as hereditary nobility, only a class of nobility based on merit.

Peter obviously did not agree with the actions taken by Vijay, but thinking about the nobles back home, his thoughts became chaotic.

When he hesitantly imagined what Russia would be like without nobles and with similar policies implemented, he concluded that although royal power would be heavily weakened, national power would rise proportionally.

He did not know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

The strengthening of Russia was naturally very beneficial, but the weakening of royal power was definitely not something he wanted.

Peter could not decide whether to feel admiration for the man or dread for what he had brought into the world, which could very well be the end of royal power.

Vijay naturally didn’t know what Peter was thinking, but he could vaguely guess what the nobles were thinking from the confused expressions on their faces.

“You gentlemen might be wondering why, after already concluding and signing the deal, we are discussing it again,” Vijay said.

Seeing everyone’s reactions, Vijay explained, “All the deals you had concluded were for civilian products and some military products that are not national key products.” “During the expo, you all witnessed some of our premium products, such as the advanced rifles, the advanced Mortars, advanced civil construction materials like cement, and the strategic material of paper.” “We previously mentioned that these products were not for sale and that we would only consider them later.

However, in order to establish relationships with all the European countries present today, I have approved the sale of these products.” “I have already received all the procurement intentions from your side, but as you all know, these products are top offerings from our empire, both in military and civilian fields.

Thus, this deal needs to be concluded separately.

However, don’t worry-there are no strings attached to the deal; the only factor that could affect it is the price of the product.” “Again, you don’t have to worry, as the products will be affordable for you all.” Saying that Vijay motioned for Rajesh to discuss with each diplomat the amount of products they would like to purchase and finalize the price.

At the end of the day, trade deals were concluded with nearly nine European countries.

Roughly, the details are as follows…

The Russians, having been the only country to thoroughly investigate the local situation of Bharat, except for the Portuguese and the Venetians of course, had ordered numerous products that showed the depth and strategic nature of their purchases.

These included thousands of tonnes of cement, thousands of sets of weapons, 2 Pune-class warships customized for the Baltic Sea and codenamed Perun Class, hundreds of machine tools, hundreds of cannons, and even a set of textbooks from school to college level, along with other civilian products.

All these products were paid for with gold, but a 10% discount was provided to the Russians after the deal was reached between both nations.

This discount was granted in exchange for the Russians agreeing to share their intelligence on Europe, specifically regarding the unknown power that employed the Swiss mercenaries who had caused trouble for the Bharatiya Empire during the war.

Peter was initially curious why Vijay’s personnel had sent a letter to the Russian royal family proposing cooperation.

However, upon examining the so-called cooperation-which was nothing more than providing a discount in exchange for using their intelligence services, Peter was disappointed, as it seemed to offer no strategic use to Russia beyond earning more money.

Nevertheless, thinking about all he had seen, his disappointment faded as he felt he had gained a lot.

Peter was surprised again when Vijay himself sent a personal letter inviting him to a meeting, with the location and details attached.

Peter became curious once more, wondering what Vijay was thinking.

The Holy Roman Empire imported cement, weapons, one Pune-class battleship, cannons, a few sets of machine tools, and paper, along with all the products bought during the expo.

The Spanish bought cement, weapons, two Pune-class battleships, cannons, paper, a few sets of machine tools, and other products bought during the expo.

Rajesh initially proposed a deal to the Spanish ambassador Pedro Santiago to purchase the design drawings and technology for the latest Caravel navigation ship at a 15% discount On the overall purchase made by the Spanish.

Unfortunately, Pedro decisively rejected the deal.

Rajesh was disappointed but not too much, as he had already expected this outcome.

From the briefing, he knew that the Caravel is a ship used by the Portuguese and the Spanish to explore unknown waters.

Moreover, being a light vessel, it does not require many resources to develop, making it a significant but difficult acquisition.

Rajesh had only tried his luck.

The French bought cement, weapons, cannons, and, oddly enough, not the battleships but the Bheema-class armed merchant ships, in a quantity of two ships, along with a dozen machine tools, paper, cement, and other products bought at the expo.

The Swedish bought the same items as the French, but instead of Bhima-class armed merchant ships, they purchased a Pune-class battleship to be used in the recent war against Polish Lithuania.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, not to be outdone by the Swedish, matched the Swedish order quantity for military products and matched the French in terms of civilian products.

The Prussian Heinrich placed similar orders to those of Polish Lithuania, but the orders for rifles, especially the sharpshooter versions Shikari C50 and C70, were greater than those of all other countries.

Apparently, these rifles had a significant market in their country, as the hunters in their nation were expected to love them.

When Vijay learned about this, he couldn’t help but lament how fate works in mysterious ways.

It seemed that the German Jaeger rifle would appear in the forests of Germany again, reaping the lives of poor animals and humans alike.

The Portuguese, due to their frequent cooperation and previous trade deals with the Bharatiya Empire, did not purchase too many products, as they constantly bought these items.

The only exception was their purchase of five Pune-class battleships, which raised the eyebrows of Pedro Santiago, the Spanish ambassador.

Surprisingly, when Rajesh proposed exchanging the Caravel design drawings and technologies for a 15% discount, the offer was not outright rejected.

After further negotiation, Rajesh and the Portuguese ambassador, Pedro Santor, reached a deal at a 20% discount.

This deal immediately alerted the Spanish, as they had significant interests in Southeast Asia.

With the Bharatiya Empire now acquiring such an excellent navigational ship, they knew it posed a threat to their colony.

This is exactly why the Portuguese ambassador, Pedro Santor, agreed to the deal.

The interests of the Portuguese in Southeast Asia were not as extensive compared to other naval nations, and they were constantly being provoked by neighbouring colonies.

Hence, this deal serves as a warning to the Spanish, Dutch, and English.

Last but not least, the Venetians, similar to the Portuguese, had a very close trading relationship with the Bharatiya Empire.

Therefore, they did not need to purchase many additional products, as they had already bought some and put them to use in their nation.

They had a good impression of most of the products and continued the trade.

The difference this time was that Rajesh proposed that the Venetians accept the patent rights of Bharatiya citizens in the Venetian Republic in exchange for Bharat recognizing Venetian patents.  The Venetian diplomat, Leicester Pasta, immediately fell into contemplation and requested to inform His Excellency, the Doge.

Rajesh was naturally aware that such a decision could not be made by a foreign diplomat alone, so he did not push him and readily signed the previously agreed-upon trade deal.

In this way, nine European countries, along with their diplomats, established their embassies on a street in Bengaluru called Blue Street.

Consequently, the Bharatiya Empire also received invitations to establish its own embassy in the nine nations.

However, since there were no suitable talents in this area yet, Vijay decided to delay the process.

P.S.

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